(NO LONGER VALID) Gitlab Changes regarding Unity

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Last night, Unity Technologies (Creator of Unity) made changes to their Terms of Service that are alarming for the game industry in general. However the catalyst of the uproar and this post is from improbable (The Creator of SpatialOS). Last night, the licenses for the development team of SpatialOS and some games using SpatialOS are having their licenses pulled for a breach of the ToS. Earlier today we received word to remove two repositories containing SpatialOS, to which we did. Additionally, we were advised to remove all code relating to Unity from our custom server solution Raven Server. Those two things today made my team, Halo and I both look into this and decide what direction we are going to go. It was unanimous that we would put some restrictions in place in order to make sure that we do not get into legally issues with Unity or jeopardize our relationship with the company.There are still many questions regarding the ambiguous writing of the ToS and we unfortunately do not have all the answers. As of result we are implementing the following changes.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

SpatialOS projects and servers using the Unity Runtime are no longer allowed on the Elaztek/ Errite Gitlab. Until we get more information from Unity itself, we are implementing these current procedures.

-SpatialOS Projects using the Unity Engine are not allowed (Though SpatialOS projects using other engines are allowed)

-Game Server Technology that use the Unity Runtime are not allowed.

-Any Apps that stream the Unity Runtime from a cloud servers hardware to a computer are no longer allowed. It must be running the Unity Runtime locally.

What this means for Elaztek and Errite:

-All current projects using the Unity Engine are currently temporarily ceasing development.

-RavenRunner which was scheduled to go into testing the next couple of months will be put on hold.

-We will not be endorsing any community developed apps that break Unity’s TOS on our download section.

-Any apps that break Unity’s TOS on the Download section will be removed.

What does this mean for Errite and Elaztek Internally?

-While Errite does provide resources to Elaztek and Chaotic United, Errite was setup in a way that made it where if Raven Runner was to be a failure, it would not put the company in debt. This means if this goes unresolved, Errite will continue along with Elaztek and CU.

-If this goes unresolved this means that Elaztek and Errite pull all support of Unity Technologies and will divert to another engine on current or future projects. However, this will only be used as a last resort. If we can still publish Raven Runner, we will do it and then refrain from using Unity’s engine in the future.

What do I think?

I have defended Unity in the past, but this time I will not do so. Seeing them pull this apple like tactics is absolutely unacceptable how they are ruining titles that are out and in development just so they can stifle the competition and gain market share. The same day that this happened they announced a competitor to SpacialOS. I used to praise Unity for providing Plus License users with tools to make their vision a reality and more tools then they did for jumpstarting a game then UE4. But the fact that they pulled this stunt makes it all for nothing. I’ve heard stories of many different game developers that are using Unity right now getting fucked over, resulting in either disappointment for fans or great financial losses. While I am not sure what route we will be taking with Raven Runner, I will not be tolerating the behavior of someone using their own influence to make a potential competitor bow down to a ransom fee. It could be Unity’s Legal Division fucking this up, who knows? But as far as I know, Unity better not fuck this up or I will be pulling my support faster then they can say “Wait come back” and I wont tolerate this behavior. Absolutely pathetic.